Blood Falls, as do Tears
by sasunarukyuubi
Summary: Sasuke leaves Konoha to go to Orochimaru. But he didn't go without leaving a small note first. And an unspoken promise. SasuNaru REDONE!
1. A Monster

Eventual Sasunaru yaoi

Disclaimer: I own nuttin'. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke. Not even the rock in the scene...

"This is it" Naruto thought "He's gone to far, and Sasuke is going to pay".The nine-tailed fox was getting angry as well and as he got angrier chakra relaesed from him. Sasuke was standing there watching in amazement as Naruto became incased in chakra.

"Oh crap how is he this strong, i can feel the energy from here!". Naruto ran forward at an unreal speed and hit sasuke in the chest. sasuke yelled in pain as he flew back.

"This is insane, no one can move that fast!' sasuke thought. He was hit again and flew near a cave carved in the rock. he walked in a thought...

Sasuke landed into the river, sinking...thinking. Naruto stood on the bank glaring daggers of hate. Yet tears still fell. Clear crystals of salty water poured down his face into the river. He shut his eyes harshly, more tears falling.

Sasuke climbed out of the water using his chakra and stood up. Naruto had disappeared. He turned on the sharingan and ducked. Naruto flew overhead, aiming a punch at the back of Sasuke's head. He landed with a splash into the water. Sasuke's eyes widdened as he noticed the streak of blood running down the blonde's back. Where had that come from?

As Naruto stood up, Sasuke saw his face up close. Naruto's normally smooth face was terrifying. His whiskers were darkened and eyes were blood-red and lusting for it as well. His teeth were bared in a snarl and a long chakra tail was whipping behind him. Naruto lashed out at Sasuke with his claws, slashing his face.

"Why?!" Naruto screamed, as if in agony. "Why would you- argh!" He was cut off as a streak of pain lashed through his gut. Sasuke just looked confused as Naruto fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Suddenly, Naruto stopped moving. He slowly got up. A smirk was floating on his face and eyes unblinking. Sasuke unconciously shuddered.

"What's wrong Sasuke?" A female's voice purred.

"N-Naruto?" Sasuke stuttered, taking a step back.

Naruto just laughed and replied, "No Sasuke-kun. Try again." He wagged his finger childishly at Sasuke.

FLASHBACK

"Ngh..." Sasuke lay on the floor, unable to move. Jiraya, Itachi, a large fish man, and a shaking Naruto surrounded him.

"You are not involved in this, Jirayla-sama." Itachi calmly stated.

"I am as involved in this as little Naruto is, Itachi." Jiraya glared at Itachi "We know that you've for the Kyuubi inside of Naruto. I won't let you have him!"

'What?!' Sasuke's eyes widdened. 'That can't be true...'

FLASHBACK ENDS

"Y-you're..." Sasuke stuttered.

Naruto gave a laugh that echoed down the canyon. "Have you realized yet, Sasuke-kun?" Naruto purred.

Sasuke took a second step back, reaching for a kunai. "You can't be it... the Yondame killed it..."

Naruto suddenly grew angry. "For one, I am a 'her'. Don't ever call me an 'it'. Second, that fool couldn't kill me. I was too strong. He wasn't strong enought to kill me so he sealed me inside this midget. Call me Yoko, teme." Yoko huffed.

Sasuke backed up even more, heart racing. This monster lived in the dobe?!

The kyuubi snarled "Don't you EVER call me a monster!" Sasuke's eyes widdened.

"You can read my mind?!"

Yoko smirked. "Oh, was I right? I guessed. Every one pretty much thinks that way."

"Oh...sorry." Sasuke averted his eyes, lowering his gaurd. "Why did you attack the village?" He asked, curious.

Yoko looked down and turned around, obviously distressed by the subject. Then she looked up and replied, "Two drunkards from your village killed my kit."

"Technically, it's not my village-" Sasuke stated.

"Shut up, kit. That's bull." Yoko glared, still turned.

Sasuke saw a perfect opportunity and raised the kunai he was holding, aiming for "Yoko's" neck.

"Are you sure you want to do that to little Naru-chan?" Yoko inquired, not even turning to look at Sasuke. "He might get killed, ya know."

Sasuke glared at the fox vessel. She was making fun of him! She was gonna die a horrible- wait, that was Naruto though. He didn't want to hurt him….

Yoko whipped her tail playfully and purred, "In a predicament, are we?"

Naruto suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Sasuke. She licked her teeth and whispered, "You don't know…do you?"

XD the evil cliffhanger! My friend Nick and I wrote this on and I wanted to post it here. You can ttell the part that I wrote has better grammer ;P


	2. First and Last Confession

"Wh-what

"Wh-what...?" Sasuke stuttered.

"Ngh!" Yoko/Naruto's eyes flickered from blue to red. Naruto was fighting back! "N-no..." Naruto choked out.

"Shut...up..." Yoko choked back. Naruto's eyes slowly changed back to blood-red and Yoko looked pissed. She then smiled. "Looks like little Naru-chan doesn't want you to know."

Sasuke looked confused and concerned. "Let me know what?" Until he had a bad thought and had to hide his face from Yoko.

She just grinned goofily and replied, "Naughty, naughty, Sasuke-kun." She wagged her finger tauntingly. "I'm gonna let little Naru-chan come out now." She winked seductively and her head slumped forward.

"Ohh..." Naruto rubbed his head, squinting his eyes. "Hn...Wha? Sasuke!" Naruto's azure eyes widened frighteningly. "D... don't listen to Yoko-chan!"

Sasuke grasped Naruto's hand. "What was it you didn't want to tell me?"

Naruto blushed heavily and turned his head sharply, risking backlash.

"No." he said simply.

Sasuke didn't let go of Naruto's arm and asked more firmly, "Why won't you tell me?"

Naruto suddenly grew angry. "What do you mean 'why won't I tell you'? You're betraying us! Me! Why should I tell you anything?!" Naruto straightened up, fresh angry tears slipped out of his now indigo eyes.

Sasuke was shocked and almost showed emotion on his usually empty face. He allowed his face to show sorrow and looked at Naruto's face.

"Look Naruto, I'm sor-"

"Shut up!" Naruto screeched. "No, you're not! You never once were sorry! Why would you start now?! You never cared..." Naruto started shivering, but before he even noticed it, Sasuke was beside him, holding him.

"I really am sorry, Naruto." Sasuke begged "I never meant for any of this to happen. I don't want to hurt you. I...I love you... I always have."


	3. Laughs and Anger

Naruto's beating heart beat faster. If the situation were different, he would be ecstatic. he wanted to be happy, but he wasn't. The small blonde grew angry. His blue eyes blinked once, then twice.

"Naruto...?" Sasuke asked.

Unexpectedly, Naruto turned to look at the older boy. His face was expressionless and cold.

"Ho ho!" Yoko laughed inside Naruto's mind. "Didn't I tell ya, kit?"

Naruto didn't answer as she went on. "A bit late, though. Stupid Uchiha." She stopped laughing. "Now, now, kit. You mustn't forget that I can see your thoughts." She chuckled. "I want to help."

Naruto smiled which startled Sasuke. Naruto's pointed teeth grew large enough to rip through flesh and bone. To Sasuke's astonishment, Naruto began to laugh.

"Is that so, Sasuke?" Naruto inquired. "Are you sure?" Tears were welling in his eyes. Not even Naruto knew if it was because of his laughing or the new hole in his chest.

"I just wanted to let you know that you're a tad late." This time it was the hole.

Naruto directed his next words to the kyuubi.

"Yoko-chan, no," he said angrily.

"Too bad, Naru-chan!" The Kyuubi's voice said from Naruto's mouth. Naruto's chakra ears and tail appeared again. Her playful face turned annoyed. She lifted an arm to jab at her bellybutton. She waited a few seconds until she was satisfied. "Sorry, Naru-chan."

Sasuke backed up, confused. "What did you do to him?"

Yoko looked at her nails. "Nice to see you, too, Sasuke-kun." She looked up. "He just passed out, is all." She waved her hand airily. I wanted another turn to speak with you.

Sasuke glared at Yoko. He took out a kunai and his Sharingan.

"I'll have you know that that won't work on me as easily as Naru-chan. And I have no intention of fighting you. Yet," she purred.

Sasuke brandished the kunai anyway. He watched the fox pace around him.

"Naru-chan's very upset, ya know. Do you know why?" She didn't wait for Sasuke to reply and continued.

"I won't kill you. No, Naru-chan would be even more upset when he comes to." Yoko's devilish grin unnerved Sasuke. "Broke his little heart, you did. And it takes a lot to break it; it was already in pieces!"

Sasuke wondered where she was going with this. And, strangely, he felt bad. But before he could voice his question, she disappeared and reappeared behind him. As she leaned in, Sasuke could feel her hot breath on his neck. Yoko frowned.

"Not very nice, Sasuke-kun. So very low." She chastised.

Sasuke could hear her shrill laugh as she disappeared again. This time Yoko was nowhere to be seen, but her voice was audible.

"Revenge? Or the people you care about? The person you care most about. You could've gotten a power that the snake bastard could never teach you, you stuck-up brat." She grew angry at this point. "Yet… You choose revenge on your brother."

She gave disapproving clicks of her tongue and appeared on the river. She had Naruto's hands on his hips and her tail swooped back and forth.

"Tut, tut, Sasuke-kun." She shook her head mockingly. "But I'm sure the snake bastard could teach you a few tricks, eh?"

She seemed to space out and when she came to, her face was expressionless.

"Seems as if the kit's not gonna wake up in a while." She sighed. "Looks as if you're free to go." She jumped out of the river and onto land. She sat, smiled one more time, and performed the ninja sign; kai, or release. She slumped onto her back, passed out.


	4. Regrets

Naruto's body slumped onto his back, unconscious. The long chakra tail and ears receded into Naruto's body and the claws shortened. Naruto growled in his sleep once then lay still. As soon as Sasuke took a step forward, the many small clouds in the deep gray sky began to drip. Sasuke lifted his face to the dark sky, getting showered by the thousands of small droplets.

Sasuke stared at the other boy, waiting to see if it really was Naruto. Images of that day four and a half years ago.

"You must kill… your closest friend."

Sasuke's eyes snapped open. 'No! I will not follow his path. I will be the better man…'

Naruto lay, almost peacefully, until he cried out in his sleep, "No… don't go… Sasuke…"

Sasuke flinched at his name. What was he doing…? Images from the past 5 years flowed through his mind.

FLASHBACKS

Sasuke ran through the street as bodies fell. The stench of blood covered the town like a blanket. Sasuke's tears of fear and loss ran down his face.

He was in the forest. He had a target, a large tree covered in kunai at a certain spot. He threw another one. Naruto jumped out of a bush. They were both surprised to see the other. Someone called Naruto's name loudly and Naruto jumped into the bush. Iruka sped by and Sasuke stood, confused. Naruto left the bush when Iruka had disappeared, laughing nervously.

It was the pairing of teams. Naruto, Sakura, and he were put on the same team. That was when the 'incident' had happened.

There was Ichiraku Ramen. Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi sat, laughing. Sasuke was smiling.

They were in the forest of land of the mist, at the top of the trees. Naruto smiled at Sasuke.

Naruto cried over Sasuke's dead body.

They were in the forest of death, Naruto stood, holding the giant snake back with his bare hands and a kunai. Sasuke stood in front of him, expression aghast. Naruto had said, "Are you alright…Scardycat?"

They stood in the room for the preliminary exams. "Naruto. I want to fight you, too."

END OF FLASHBACKS

Sasuke stood over the blonde. Tears were welled up in his eyes, which surprised even himself. He felt a sudden urge to collapse onto his knees. But he didn't. His pride wouldn't let him. His pride shattered instantly, and he fell to his knees. He sat, staring at the blonde until returning his glance to the sky.

He couldn't go back to Konoha. Not now. Not after all this. And Orochimaru… He just wanted his body. What was the point in that? It was for his revenge. But what was the point of revenge if he were to die in the end, the only Uchiha and no purpose in life. But he had to do it. Itachi couldn't go unpunished for the Hell he had brought upon the smaller Sharingan user.

The upper corners of his mouth twitched at a thought. 'Yes. That would be doable.'

Sasuke had only just realized that he was sitting directly over Naruto. Naruto seemed exhausted and was breathing shallowly. Silent tears traveled down the blonde's face and outlined his features. Sasuke's breath caught in his throat as Naruto moaned unexpectedly. Sasuke raised his head to sit up.

He stayed in this position for only one minute until he untied his headband from his forehead. Sasuke reached into his weapons pouch and pulled out a kunai. With the two items in his hands he carved only two words onto the headband's surface. Sasuke stood slowly and took careful steps around the other teenager. He turned to look at Naruto and bent down, placing the headband into Naruto's jacket pocket. Sasuke stood once more and turned towards the forest. He walked and, this time, didn't look back.

The rain seemed as if to fall slowly, each drop could be heard on the soft leaves of the trees. Kakashi leapt from tree branch to tree branch. His concern was obvious even with only his right eye visible. His silver hair was plastered to his face in the rain. The jonin looked up to sky. He prayed to the gods that he wasn't to late.

Pakkun ran alongside him, darting from tree to tree as well. He seemed to be straining his nose for a smell.

"You didn't lose the scent, did you?" Kakashi asked the ninja dog, eyeing the wet sky.

"Of course not," Pakkun sniffed. "I'm a tracking dog. I'm tougher than this measly rain." Though as he boasted, Kakashi could tell that even Pakkun couldn't last long in this downpour. But he seemed as if he still had a hint of it.

They raced along the branches and earthen until Pakkun suddenly stopped.

"It's close." Pakkun sniffed the moist air.

They searched until they found Naruto lying in the brush, totally soaked. Kakashi reached the teenage blonde first, Pakkun trailing along behind. Kakashi looked at Naruto sadly.

"We're too late…" Kakashi reached down and scooped Naruto up in his arms to stable him. He looked at Naruto and then the forest beyond. Kakashi was surprised when Naruto uttered a single word in his sleep.

"Sasuke…"


	5. Hospitalized

_Why does the world despise people like me? Why do I exist? As a toy? A plaything? An experiment?! What the hell am I supposed to do? I'm useless… Use… less…_

I stared at the ground, silent anger and frustration etched all over my face. I continued my staring, as the others, they, watched, gossiping. Most likely about me since they threw disgusted looks at me every now and then. I looked up and they pulled a face as though someone shoved something bad smelling under their noses and turned away. Assholes.

I left the swing in the park, heading for the training grounds where I'll soon be training as a genin! I walked down the road, a friendly look upon my face.  
When you see my face, you'll see nothing wrong. When you see my fake smile, you won't see the sadness. Pull up my jacket and shirt; you'll see the bruises, cuts, and scars. But I walk on, sureness in my step. I won't let another stranger beat me like that again.

It's a struggle for survival here for me. And it seems to only be me. Why am I hated so here? I see Sakura walk by and I wave. She doesn't even notice me; she's fawning over Sasuke. Tch, whatever. I look at Sasuke and smile. He looks so lonely. So alike. He glares at me. What a bastard! I glare back and walk off. As I walk off, I turn around to look back. Uchiha's smiling… I smile back. I think he noticed me…

--

Naruto's eyes fluttered open, revealing his brilliant cerulean blue eyes. He was propped facing a familiar window to his right. But it wasn't his window. Naruto sighed. 'Great. I'm in the hospital.'

He didn't bother turning around and looked outside. The clean, white curtains embroidering the window stirred as the breeze blew. The sky was a baby blue and the ground was wet from the storm. A magnificent rainbow arched across the sky and reflected beautiful colors. Villagers moved about on their early morning chores.

A slight rusty creak signaled to Naruto that someone was at the door.

"Naruto-kun?" Sakura called. "Are you up?"

Naruto winced as he attempted to move to his left side. The soft sheets didn't help much. To his left was a clean room. The walls were a pure white that almost blinded him. Beside him on a stand sat a single vase with a red rose.

"Yeah. I'm up, Sakura-chan." Naruto answered.

Sakura sighed in relief and sat down in a visitor's chair. She held a white rose and replaced the red one in the jar beside Naruto's bed. She smiled kindly.



"Are you okay, now, Naruto-kun?" she asked sweetly.

Naruto nodded. When he turned to look at her, he noticed his orange jacket.

"When did they fix it up?" Naruto asked, pointing to the jacket.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know when. But they sewed it back up and washed the blood stains."

Naruto's eyes widened as he remembered why he was here.

"Sakura-chan, where's Sasuke?"

Sakura flinched and looked down. She was silent and didn't say anything. Naruto looked at her concerned. "Where is he?" he repeated.

Sakura seemed to be clenching something in her right hand tightly. She looked up, a sad smile floated over her face. "Here, take this. He left it."

She took his hand and pressed the object in his palm. She got up and bowed. "I'm glad to see you're better. I hope you leave the hospital soon." And with that, she left.

Naruto looked down at his palm curiously. He noticed the cloth and metal and identified it as Sasuke's headband. Silent tears welled up in Naruto's eyes as he saw that it was. He stared at the scratch mark going straight across the leaf symbol and noticed etchings in the corner. Only two words were carved.

'I'm sorry.'

The silent tears fell swiftly from his face and soaked his clean sheets. As he sat he heard a noise from the window and turned.

"Yo."

An old man with long aged white hair, sandals, and a giant scroll across his back stood on the windowsill. Naruto hastily wiped his eyes and asked, "What are you doing here, Ero-sannin?"

Jiraiya frowned. "I told you not to call me that. And this is the thanks I get to come visit little Naruto in the hospital?" he waved his arm in mock hurt.

"Seriously, Ero-sannin."

"Don't call me that-"  


"Whatever." Naruto looked down. Jiraiya frowned, looking concerned.

"What's wrong, kid?" he asked. "It's about that Uchiha kid, right? Wasn't he your friend?"

Naruto didn't look up. "I thought he was."

Jiraiya sighed. "Listen." Naruto looked up partially. "I had the same experience." Naruto raised a brow. "I know it's not easy, but you have to move on. What I'm saying is, forget about him. Don't go after him. He won't come back." Jiraiya stopped Naruto right when he was about to argue. "I'm serious. Only an idiot would go after someone as bent on revenge as him."

"If that's what it takes, then I'll remain an idiot for the rest of my life."

Jiraiya was surprised at Naruto sudden outburst. Naruto's tears had stopped. This time, Naruto stopped Jiraiya when he tried to argue.

"You don't understand. When I'm around him, when he talks to me, I feel like I'm somebody." Naruto looked up at the ceiling. "He was the first to acknowledge me, to actually talk to me for who I am. I can't just let him walk away from my life. And…" Naruto paused.

Jiraiya raised his brow, waiting for Naruto to go on.

"I… I think I… l-love him…"


	6. The Ramen Shop

Naruto walked down an alleyway, alone. It was almost after dark and his limp was getting pretty damn annoying. He grasped his left arm tightly, keeping the blood flow from getting out of hand. Naruto hopped slightly over an overfilled trashcan, earning a wince from the pressure on his leg.

'Kit?' Kyuubi's concerned voice perked up. 'Why didn't you fight back?'

"I tried, Kyuu-chan," Naruto shot. "They jumped me, the bastards. They don't usually do that."

'Okay, okay. You don't need to yell at me, kit.'

Naruto sighed heavily. He knew it wasn't Kyuubi's fault; he was just annoyed. He was finally at the end of the alleyway and he stopped to look. "No one's there…" he said to himself.

He walked out in the opening. The reason why he didn't want anyone to see him wasn't because he was afraid of getting beaten up again. He was afraid one of his friends would see him like this and ask what happened.

"Kyuu-chan, help me out…" Naruto asked, staggering a bit.

Kyuubi smiled. "I was wondering when you were going to ask!" Kyuubi's healing powers started to take effect. Naruto's limp started to ease up and his bleeding was receding.

"Thanks, Kyuu-chan."

'No problem, kit!' Kyuubi smirked. 'You just gotta learn to ask!' She was teasing him.

Naruto inwardly flipped Kyuubi off.

'Now, that wasn't very nice, Naru-chan…' Kyuubi said, feigning being hurt.

Naruto was silently fuming when someone approached him from behind.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked. She looked severely concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Urk!" Naruto almost jumped in surprise. He straightened and turned to face her, laughing nervously. "Sakura-chan, don't scare me like that…" he whined.

Sakura still didn't look phased by his whining. Her concerned appearance didn't fade and her hands were on her hips. Sakura still wore the same clothes that she was wearing from their mission this morning, which told Naruto that she hadn't been home yet.

"Naruto, what's wrong with your arm?" Sakura asked; she was more specific this time.

Naruto put his confused face on. "What do you mean, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura crossed her arms across her chest and sighed. She was looking at his left arm, where his orange jacket still had blood stains on it.



Naruto followed her gaze, spotting the blood stains.

"Shit…" he muttered. "Kyuu-chan, why didn't you tell me that it left blood stains?" he whispered.

'Well I thought it was freaking obvious that it would leave stains.' Kyuubi rolled her eyes. 'Apparently not.'

Sakura seemed to be afraid of the growling that Naruto was doing unconsciously.

"Naruto…?" she asked. "Did you get beaten up again?"

"It's alright, Sakura-chan." Naruto reassured her. "I can take care of myself."

"But, Naruto, this happens almost everyday!" Sakura exclaimed. "This has to stop!"

Naruto only shrugged. "It's okay, Sakura-chan," he reassured his anxious friend.

"No, Naruto," Sakura growled angrily. "It's not okay. I don't care if Kyuubi can heal you; that doesn't make anything okay!"

To Naruto's surprise, she was crying. Angry drops of the salty water swiftly ran down her cheeks, messing up her make up. Naruto panicked, not sure of what to do.

'Kyuu-chan, you're a girl. What do I do?'

Kyuubi sniffed, uninterested. 'I may be a girl, Naru-chan, but I'm obviously not human. What the hell do you take me for?'

Naruto frowned and realized Sakura was speaking again.

"I… I can't just sit by and watch this; you have to understand this, Naruto." Sakura's gaze locked on his arm. It then traveled to the bruises on his face, his leg, and his shoulders. "Every day there's a new injury and it tears me inside. You need to be more careful."

Naruto looked at the pink haired konoichi softly. He didn't say anything. There wasn't much to say. He just smiled.

Sakura almost audibly gasped. It was a different smile than his usual smile. It was real. Naruto's cerulean blue eyes sparkled faintly and the corners of his mouth curved upward but didn't show his teeth. Sakura blushed slightly and averted her gaze.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. But, really, I'm fine." He turned slightly, the smile never left his face. As he turned and faced his back to her, and called back, "And if there's anything else you need to lecture me on, I'll be at my house!"

Naruto stuck his hands in his orange cargo pant's pockets and walked off, then turning around the corner. Sakura stood alone in the middle of the street, staring at the spot where Naruto had stood. She finally smiled and turned to walk to her house, as well.



The morning was dull and dreary. It was as if every one else was mourning, too. The sky was bright and clear, but there was a feeling of regret and sadness hanging over Konoha. The few people that were outside wore weak smiles and worried expressions. Naruto sat inside the ramen shop, eating slowly for a change. He sighed at gulped down a small proportion of his noodles when an older girl behind the counter wearing an apron approached him.

"Naruto-kun, are you sure you're fine?" she asked carefully.

"Ayame-chan," Naruto looked up from his now half-empty bowl, grinning. "I'm fine!"

"Now, now, Naruto. We all know that's not true." And old man joined in the very small conversation. He smiled a small smile and continued. "Now, son, what's wrong? And tell the truth. We know that it's something to do with the Uchiha, right?"

"And you're still on your third bowl; that's a sign!" Ayame added in mock seriousness. She shut up after the look the old man gave her.

Naruto smiled, amused, but didn't answer.

The old man frowned and turned to Ayame. "What do you think, Ayame-chan?"

Ayame stared at Naruto without answering and furrowed her brow in concentration. Naruto looked up, uncomfortable, at the brunette staring at him so oddly. She pulled back, looking proud of herself after analyzing the blonde.

"Lovesick," she announced proudly to her father as if Naruto wasn't sitting there. Naruto blushed.

"Ah, I see…" The old man thought out loud, looking at Naruto.

Ayame grinned. "The girls are gonna love this!"

Naruto's eyes widened. Kyuubi laughed and Naruto wanted to punch the stupid fox so hard, her face would come out of her-

'That's not very nice, Naru-chan…'


	7. Something Wrong

Naruto had just woken up after a long night. He sat up on the edge of the bed and sighed. The old hermit was taking him under his wing as his first pupil in a long time.

_"I'll be training an idiot, then?"_ the old man had said, smirking. _"I guess you'll do. I'll call you when it's time to leave."_

Naruto frowned as he glanced at his alarm clock. The clock flashed 7:30 in a green light. It blared at him this early in the morning? Naruto's eye twitched. That old hermit had probably snuck in and set it. Granted, 7:30 isn't very early for an average person…

He sighed again and stood to get dressed. Naruto pulled on his black T-shirt and a pair of orange cargo pants. When he reached for his jacket, he paused, noticing a small piece of cloth. Naruto stared at the headband and the two words carved in it for a few seconds and grabbed it, putting it in his pocket.

_'I'm sorry.'_

Naruto headed in a beeline for the kitchen and opened the cupboard, taking out a packet of ramen. As, the water boiled, he stood, thinking of when he and the others were preparing to go after Sasuke. Sakura stood, not a yard away from him, crying. She looked helpless as she pleaded him.

_"Please, Naruto-kun, only you can do it. Only you can bring him back. This is my wish of a lifetime: Please, bring Sasuke-kun back."_

Naruto boiled his ramen and ate in silence. The lump in his pocket was obvious and he couldn't forget that it was there. He finished his ramen and tied his own headband over his forehead. He left his jacket on the floor beside his bed as he packed his backpack.

'You dumbass...' He thought to himself. 'I should be the sorry one.'

When Naruto walked out the door, sunlight struck his face and he shielded his eyes. He looked up to see the azure blue skies and birds flitting by. He smiled for the first time that morning and resumed his walk.

On his walk, he ran into Lee. Not surprisingly, he was on his own; skipping rope in the park.

"Bushy brow! What's up?" Naruto called. Lee looked up from his jump rope without stopping..

"Ah! Naruto-kun!" Lee was unable to wave so he dipped his head in acknowlegement. "I am training! If 1200 jumps with the skipping rope does not make me stronger, then I will do 1400 push ups!" He shot a bright smile.

"Cool." Naruto smiled back at the over energetic ninja and turned away to his walk.

"Good-bye, Naruto-kun!" Lee called and resumed his work-out.

Naruto's mood felt lifted, as it usually did when he talked to Lee. Lee's optimism was easily rubbed off on Naruto. Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets and tried to ignore the object in his right pocket. He kicked the dust on the walkway and looked up when he heard his name called.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura waved to him from her house on the second floor. Naruto smiled and waved at his pink-haired teammate.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" He greeted her enthusiastically.

"Where are you going, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked, noticing his backpack. 'He's not wearing his jacket, either… Weird.'

"I didn't tell you, Sakura-chan?" Naruto grinned as he pointed to himself with his thumb. "I'm gonna train with Ero Sannin. I won't be back for a while, I think." Sakura frowned.

"Really?" She thought for a moment. "I'm going to train with Lady Tsunade; she's taken me as her pupil."

Naruto congratulated her and she waved as he left. On the way to Konohagakure's main gates, he met several of his other friends. Kiba slapped him on the back, saying he was lucky. Neji told him 'good luck, you're gonna need it.' Hinata blushed and almost had a heart attack when he hugged her good-bye. And TenTen just stared at him in shock. As if he couldn't get a good enough tutor. Pshaw.

"Hey, kiddo," Jiraiya greeted the blonde ninja at the gates. Naruto just glared at the old man.

"I'll get you later for my alarm clock, Ero Sannin."

Jiraiya laughed and patted him on the head. "Good to see you, too. Well, let's get going."

--- --- --- --- --- ----

"Are we there yet?"

"For God's sake, shut up," Jiraiya snapped at the blonde for the umpteenth time. "We've only been walking for a few hours. There's no rush."

"Of course there is!" Naruto looked hurt. "I need to get stronger if I want to become Hokage. …Or Bring Sasuke back…"

"Naruto…" Jiraiya sighed. He didn't even bother to argue; the boy would not let Sasuke go. Instead, he tried a different approach. "Don't worry, Naruto. You stalled him long enough, so he didn't get to Orochimaru in time for him to transfer his body to him. Orochimaru had to transfer into a different body. That means were still have around three or four years to save him."

Naruto looked hopeful. "Really?"

"Yeah."

Naruto looked considerably more cheerful and preceded the walk.

--- --- --- --- --- ----

"Nee, Ero-sannin," Naruto prodded Jiraiya in the shoulder with a frown.

Jiraiya continued to sleep and snore loudly. Naruto prodded him again and the old man turned in his makeshift bed. The blonde ninja frowned and cringed as a pain shot through his lower abdomen.

"Ngh..." The blonde winced as it hit again and wrapped his arm around his waist in an attempt for self comfort. Jiraiya continued to snore loudly and Naruto could clearly feel a vien throb in his head in annoyance. "Ero-sannin!" No response.

'...' Kyuubi hadn't spoken either and Naruto was about to ask what was wrong when she finally spoke.

'Naru-chan...' She hummed. 'We have a slight problem.' Naruto's frown remained.

"What's the matter?"

Kyuubi waited a few seconds before responding as another pain shot through from Naruto's stomach, to lower abdomen, then to his groin.

'You're gonna need to go to sleep for a while...' Before the blonde ninja could ask what she meant, Naruto had been forced into unconsciousness.

**Chapter 7 of BFadT (I'm calling it that from now on)**

**...**

**don't kill me for being so late... I"m sorry. And don't worry; I'll update the others soon, too. This time, I'm telling the truth xD**


	8. Journeying Back

… **Hi. [shot'd]**

Jiraiya was panicking.

He had thought he felt something prodding him last night, but he ignored it and flipped on his side. He was sure of it. It wasn't his fault; he was half asleep. But that was beside the point. Naruto was unconscious and wouldn't wake up.

The old man had tried everything: yelling at him, shaking him, coaxing the blond's sub-consciousness with the promise of ramen, threatening that he would hurt badly after training if didn't wake up soon; none of it worked. Naruto was out cold. Not even hellhounds would wake the boy up.

Worst of all, Jiraiya could plainly see the grimace of pain across his pupil's face. Naruto was in pain. But, then wouldn't he wake up…? Jiraiya's thoughts froze for two seconds.

"Shit," he cursed out loud. How old was the boy now? He was about fourteen years old, right? "Shit!" He cursed again.

He scooped the blond into his arms and transferred him, from that position, onto his back. He packed their other supplies and items back into their respected bags and slung them up from a tree, out of animals' reach. He couldn't carry both them and the boy.

Jiraiya yelped in an attempt to check Naruto's forehead for his temperature. It burned his skin and he jerked his hand back by instinct. Jiraiya muttered under his breath, not surprised.

The old man shifted his long, gray hair onto his left shoulder so that he wouldn't snuff out the blond's life by suffocation as he carried him piggy-back.

"God damn it," Jiraiya trekked back towards the village, carrying his load. "Why now?"

Jiraiya had been walking for at least an hour or two, he wasn't really paying attention. Though, he could tell that Naruto was a great source of heat, at the moment. Jiraiya felt almost comfortable carrying the smaller male, but he knew that it was certainly not comfortable for the blond.

He had to bring Naruto back to the village before he woke up. Jiraiya shuddered and Naruto groaned, causing Jiraiya to walk faster.

After a few minutes, he assumed that he was near the village. He could recognize landmarks. He called out, not feeling like waiting.

"Hello? Help!"

He called out, impatient, for a minute before someone answered.

"Who are you?" A guard called from the tower. Apparently, the trees were blocking him from view of the guardsmen and they were wary of him. Good, they were alert, at least.

He stepped into the open and the guardsmen looked in curious wariness.

"Jiraiya-sama, you and Naruto left yesterday," one of them pointed out. "What brings you back so soon?"

Jiraiya growled, frustrated. They were doing their job, that was fine, but he had a sick boy with him. His sick pupil.

"Open the gate, dumbasses!" Jiraiya bellowed. "Naruto's got a problem, and I need to speak to Tsunade immediately!"

They jumped in fright at the order and hurried to pull the gates open with the large lever attached to an even larger chain. The chains pulled the gates open and Jiraiya entered the village, nodding in acknowledgement to the guardsmen and the two at the bottom of the gates, sitting at their table.

Jiraiya ignored the familiar looks of confusion directed mostly not at him, but at Naruto. They murmured amongst themselves about what was wrong with him. It was obvious that something was wrong with him. Some people smirked and some people pointed.

"Fuck off," Jiraiya told a random passerby that asked him what was wrong with the boy.

Jiraiya went straight to the Hokage Tower, passing by Anko in the hallways, who just followed him. Thankfully, Anko didn't ask questions; she probably also knew what was wrong with him.

She just placed her hand hovering over Naruto's forehead and drew back, nodding. She looked at his face and frowned; Naruto's face was flushed with heat and was twisted in a pained grimace. He's breathing was also labored.

"At least he's not conscious to actually feel the pain," Anko said out loud. Jiraiya grunted as a reply.

"Oh, my! What on earth happened?!" Iruka shot out from the room he was in, entering mother-mode. He wore a look of extreme concern and worry, not touching Naruto's skin at all.

"You'll probably find out later," Jiraiya replied, turning around the corner to reach Tsunade's office. Before he even reached the door's handle he barked out, "Tsunade! Emergency!" He slammed the door open.

"Eh? You're back already? Wh-" Tsunade froze as she looked up from her paperwork. Shizune was beside her, holding Ton-Ton in her arms as if he was a cat. Tsunade immediately stood from her position at the desk.

"What's wrong?" She asked, all other thoughts flying out the window.

Jiraiya laid Naruto down on a chair and the blond groaned. Even when they were only listening to the pained groan, it sounded painful. Iruka grimaced and bit at his nails, looking as if the world were ending.

"Is it…?" Tsunade looked to Jiraiya, letting her question trail off. Jiraiya nodded gravely.

"I think so."

Tsunade grumbled angrily to herself and walked to the open window. She punched the wall beside her and cut her fist. As the blood trailed down her knuckles and fingers, she turned and asked, "Are you sure? Is he that old already?"

"I'm pretty damn sure," Jiraiya scoffed. "What else could it be? Have you felt that boy's forehead? And I'm pretty sure he's fourteen…"

Iruka just about had it.

"What. Are. You. Talking about?" Iruka ground out his words. He wanted to know what was happening to his "little boy". Tsunade sighed, smoothing out her blond locks by trailing her uninjured hand through them.

"Naruto is a Jinchuriki," she started and Iruka nodded impatiently. "Jinchuriki have been around for a long time, though the demons have been around longer. They are still animals, no matter what. And, since the demon is still part of the host, the host has the attributes of the animal. Such as features, personality, and habits."

Iruka stopped nodding and slowly digested the information. He couldn't see where this was going. Tsunade continued, giving Iruka a look that said 'interrupt and I won't tell you shit.'

"Therefore, when the host becomes of age, which is usually fourteen years of age, they go through something called 'heat'." Iruka's eyes widened. "Animals go through this, as well."

"Wha-" Iruka's jaw dropped open. "Well, why does he look in pain? And why is he unconscious?" Tsunade sighed and crossed her arms.

"That's temporary," she stated. "Based on what gender the demon is, the host will apply the changes to his or her body."

"You mean-"

"Yes. His organs and muscles are rearranging," Tsunade made a face and looked away. "I suspect that the Kyuubi put him to sleep so that he wouldn't feel the pain." She smiled.

"That was nice of her," Anko grinned. "So, if his… stuff is rearranging, does that mean…?"

"Yes," Tsunade's smile was far from happy; instead she looked ready to kill. "He's able to become pregnant."


End file.
